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For a friend looking for highly-reviewed, recently published science fiction, consider these popular and acclaimed novels from the past few years. Award winners A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine (2019): This space opera and political mystery won the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Novel. The story follows an ambassador from a small mining station who must investigate her predecessor's death in the capital of a powerful, expansionist empire. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (2021): The author of The Martian delivers another science-heavy, high-stakes adventure. A man wakes up on a spaceship with no memory and must piece together who he is and his mission to save Earth from a solar anomaly. A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers (2021): A heartwarming and hopeful story that explores a non-dystopian future. A tea monk feeling unfulfilled on a moon inhabited by robots embarks on a journey that leads to a new understanding of life and purpose. The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler (2022): This Arthur C. Clarke Award shortlisted novel is an atmospheric first-contact story. The plot follows a marine biologist who discovers a new species of intelligent octopuses in Vietnam. The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (2024): A recent release that received praise as part of the Arthur C. Clarke shortlist. It's a comedic time-travel romance about a civil servant from the 21st century assigned to help integrate a "Bridge-builder" from the Victorian era into modern society. Highly reviewed and recommended The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells (series started in 2017): This popular and witty series follows a self-hacking, part-human, part-robot security android known as Murderbot. It begins with the novella All Systems Red and has grown to include full-length novels. Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky (series started in 2015): The Hugo Award-winning series chronicles humanity's struggle for survival and its first contact with a new intelligent species. The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir (series started in 2019): This highly original series blends sci-fi, fantasy, and mystery with a gothic atmosphere. Gideon the Ninth is the first book in the story of a swordswoman forced to serve an undead necromancer. The Future by Naomi Alderman (2023): From the author of The Power, this near-future novel is a suspenseful thriller about a group of tech billionaires who believe an impending apocalypse is near. The novel explores themes of technology, climate change, and human nature. Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (2023): This dystopian novel imagines a near-future in which incarcerated people are forced to fight to the death for entertainment.